History YMMV / TheDarkKnight

** While the Joker wants to prove the only reasonable way to live in modern times is “without rules”, there are multiple times in the movie where his plan progresses as intended because the cops neglect to follow their own rules. In particular, had the cops given the prisoner complaining of stomach pains immediate medical attention instead of dismissing him, they would have found the cellphone bomb before the Joker could set it off. Also, had Detective Stephens opted not to assault the Joker in custody, he wouldn’t have gotten close enough for the Joker to take him hostage and set off the bomb in the first place. As such, the movie can have an unintended Aesop of “the rules are in place sometimes for a good reason.”

* {{Misblamed}}: A film example. Contrary to popular belief, Heath Ledger's method acting for the film wasn't what killed him. According to his family, he actually had a lot of fun playing The Joker (even did impressions of him during their last dinner together) and was looking forward to the potential sequel that Nolan was planning. It was reckless taking of various sleeping pills in an attempt to curb his insomnia that led to his death long after he has finished filming.

* TrueArtIsAngsty: ''The Dark Knight'' was easily the most serious and mature film adaptation of Batman made at the time, and still remains one of the darkest after films such as ''Film/{{Joker}}'' were made. It's also the most unanimously critically-acclaimed, and is often regarded as not just one of the greatest comic book adaptations of all time, but a fierce contender for one of the greatest ''films'' of all time.

* LoveToHate: Creator/HeathLedger's portrayal of the Joker is among the most revered and celebrated villains in both cinema and fiction, all thanks to Ledger's brilliant performance and the character's pure evil, yet nihilistic motivations.

* {{Misblamed}}: A film example. Contrary to popular belief, Heath Ledger's method acting for the film wasn't what killed him. It was reckless taking of various sleeping pills in an attempt to curb his insomnia that led to his death long after he has finished filming.

%%** To Heat, from Creator/MichaelMann's ''Film/{{Heat}}''. There are many similarities between both films.

** Thomas Schiff, the henchman of the Joker that Harvey Dent interrogates, is played by none other than Creator/DavidDastmalchian in his first film role. Dastmalchian would later become known for his more prominent roles in other comic book movies, such as Kurt in ''Film/AntMan'' and ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'' and Abner Krill/Polka-Dot Man in ''Film/TheSuicideSquad''.

** Contrasting Batman and Dent. Batman in a way upholds his flaws (he is a vigilante), and knows he isn't perfect. He is the one who remains true to his ideals. Dent is seen as perfect by everyone, and he is as good person...but he has flaws. Sadly, they explode in the worst possible way.

* AcceptableProfessionalTargets: Lampshaded by the Joker when he tells Harvey that society is conditioned to feel less shock over the deaths of criminals and soldiers than they are over politicians or random people.

** Thomas Schiff, the henchman of the Joker that Harvey Dent interrogates is played by none other than Creator/DavidDastmalchian in his first film role. Dastmalchian would later go on to play Kurt in Film/AntMan and Film/AntManAndTheWasp and Polka-Dot Man in ''Film/TheSuicideSquad''.

** When the United States is unable to extradite Lau from Hong Kong, Batman travels there himself, abducts him, and drops him off in Gotham City. This practice, known as "extraordinary rendition", was frequently used by the United States government during the war on terror.

* When the United States is unable to extradite Lau from Hong Kong, Batman travels there himself, abducts him, and drops him off in Gotham City. This practice, known as "extraordinary rendition", was frequently used by the United States government during the war on terror.

** Many have taken Batman's phone-tapping of every Gothamite's mobile phone as a [[{{Anvilicious}} heavy-handed]] commentary about [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror the Patriot Act]], with some even arguing that [[AccidentalAesop it unintentionally justifies it.]] However, a counter-argument points out that the film itself addresses the questionable ethics of this type of technology, and Batman immediately tells Lucius to destroy it once they've located the Joker, while in real life it continues to be used and abused by different organizations and individuals.

* AccidentalAesop: As noted under WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical, the climax of the film can be read as a big analogy towards the Patriot Act, which this movie unintentionally justifies - without [[spoiler:the massive sonar device Batman creates towards the end of the film]], Batman wouldn't have been able to figure out the Joker's location, final plan, or his [[spoiler:DisguisedHostageGambit]] fast enough to prevent any deaths.

** Contrasting Batman and Dent. Batman in a way upholds his flaws (he is a vigilante), and knows he isn't perfect. He is the one who remains true to his ideals. Dent is seen as perfect by everyone, and he is s good person...but he has flaws. Sadly, they explode in the worst possible way.

* ToughActToFollow: Heath Ledger's Joker was so well-received that [[Film/SuicideSquad2016 rebooting the charatcer a mere 8 years later]] would inevitably lead to negative comparisons, which Creator/JaredLeto found out the hard way. It's implied that the decision to romanticise the Joker was decided by ExecutiveMeddling, as Creator/ZackSnyder [[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague kept Jared Leto]] and [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap steered him a more accepted direction]] while still establishing him as a total bastard and Creator/DavidAyer has repeatedly stated that he always intended to make the Joker a HateSink.

* CompleteMonster: [[Characters/TheDarkKnightTrilogyTheJoker The Joker]] is a self-described "[[ChaosIsEvil agent of chaos]]" out to give Gotham a "[[EvilerThanThou better class of criminal]]". Introduced by killing each of his goons after a bank robbery, the Joker proceeds to exploit the mob's desire to be rid of Batman, casually murdering henchmen, politicians and police to force Batman to unmask himself. He also makes the lawyer attempting to unmask Batman a target; ties a crime boss to a pile of money which he then burns; kills a gangster by [[EyeScream making a pencil disappear...eraser-end first]]; blows up a hospital; leads police into a trap where they will shoot innocent civilians before getting killed by his men; attempts a PrisonersDilemma scenario to get a boatload of civilians and prisoners to blow each other up; and, primarily by manipulating a SadisticChoice leading to Rachel Dawes's death, and then by [[MindRape mind raping]] an injured Harvey Dent in the hospital, is the driving force behind his transformation into [[Characters/BatmanTwoFace Two-Face]]. The Joker's main motivation is fun, but he also wants to show that anyone and everyone can and will become a monster if pushed far enough, or even if just given the chance. He's proven wrong, but doesn't care, just giving an annoyed shrug and attempting to blow the two boats sky high with his own detonator.

* DracoInLeatherPants: The Joker, largely due to Creator/HeathLedger's rendition of him as an anti-authoritarian anarchist who wants to watch the world burn, and the fact that some of his speeches taken out of context (especially his speech to Harvey Dent in the hospital) actually makes sense in terms of its argument and rhetoric. Unlike the other versions of Joker (Creator/JackNicholson, Creator/JaredLeto, Creator/MarkHamill--even Creator/JoaquinPhoenix's [[Film/Joker2019 most recent take]]), he doesn't have the tendency of romantic fixation and DomesticAbuse of women and children that always kept fans from entirely rooting for Joker. There's also those who are so fascinated with his philosophy about anarchy and argue that his ideals are the only way humans should live. This is ignoring the fact that he is a mass-murdering madman who also clearly adds sadism to his motives and whose goals would only create a miserable world (a world not-so-much better than the corrupt one he claims to be against). Not only this, but he believed that people deep down are just as bad as he is, which is proven to be wrong right in front of him.

* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: Heath Ledger's untimely death certainly didn't hurt the film's performance at the box office. [[DeadArtistsAreBetter It even got him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]].

** The film itself remains the most acclaimed Batman film and one of the most popular comic book movies ever, thanks to being the movie that gave the superhero genre new prestige. Almost 15 after its release, it's still held up as a bar most subsequent superhero films have yet to reach, and every subsequent ''Batman'' film, for good or ill, has been compared to it.

** Also a bit of a FunnyAneurysmMoment, if you remember what happened to Caesar after he assumed dictatorial powers. [[spoiler: Caesar went above the law and was killed, and Dent ...]]

** A tall, lean man, with long hair, who is [[TheDreaded feared by]] TheMafia kills a man with [[ImprovisedWeapon a pencil]]. The Joker or Film/JohnWick?

* FoeYay:
** The Joker perversely stalking Rachel is somewhat of this, and creepy.
** Not to mention Batman and Joker, though a little less than usual. "You...complete ''me''."

* AcceptableTargets:
** Lampshaded by the Joker when he tells Harvey that society is conditioned to feel less shock over the deaths of criminals and soldiers than they are over politicians or random people.
** Lampshaded again in regards to the prisoners on the ferry. Several innocent people point out that since they chose to commit crimes their lives are inherently worth less than the lives of law-abiding citizens. The point that some of them may have been framed or committed crimes undeserving of death is never raised, just that [[spoiler: at least one of them is repentant enough to do the noble thing.]]

** Creator/MaggieGyllenhaal plays a district attorney in a Batman movie [[spoiler: who dies in an explosion at the hands of the Joker]]. Fourteen years later, her husband, Creator/PeterSarsgaard, would also play a district attorney in [[Film/TheBatman2022 another Batman movie]] [[spoiler: who meets the same fate at the hands of the Riddler]].

* JerkassWoobie: [[spoiler:Anna Ramirez]]. Yes, she's a DirtyCop and yes, [[spoiler: she is directly involved in Rachel Dawes' death and thus, Harvey Dent's FaceHeelTurn]], but she was just trying to help her mother, and she felt much guilt from her actions.